As a new school year begins, every middle and high school in Fayette County, Georgia will contain a “long rifle” in case of emergencies, as reported by 11Alive School Resource officers already carry handguns, but the County wants to increase their emergency preparedness by having a rifle inside the building at all times.
“Our School Resource Officers need to be equipped with the right instruments to be able to protect the students and the staff,” Fayette County Schools Spokesman Melinda Berry-Dreisbach said.
The rifles will be housed in the school safety officers’ office, inside a safe behind the office’s locked door. For added security, the safe will be hooked up to an alarm and camera system. Not even the principal will have the code to get in.
The rifles were previously stored in the Resource Officers’ vehicles, but the distance means added time when retrieving the gun. The story doesn’t say what kind of rifle will be stored in the schools, but we can assume they will be LEO issue AR-platform rifles.
“That’s wasting some precious time,” Berry-Dreisbach said, adding, “It’s just another layer of protection.” Officials hope to cut down on response times with this strategy.
The safes will cost approximately $2,000, which will be covered by local law enforcement agencies.